“Boss, are you planning to capture that monster as well?”
Rachel who had stepped out of the car behind me asked.
“That’s right. I intend to add it to my collection.”
I toyed with the orb in my palm.
In the [Neon Nexus] world, most monsters couldn’t be contained by conventional means.
If they were placed in an ordinary prison, about half would simply break free through sheer force, while another thirty percent would defy the laws of physics and slip away effortlessly.
And once they escaped, they would go elsewhere and harm innocent people.
They were supernatural creatures that couldn’t even be contained without special abilities or advanced technology.
A significant number of the tragedies that occurred in this world were caused by these very monsters.
Because of this, most countries had formed special task forces dedicated to capturing and eliminating them, but it was far from enough.
The powerless continued to suffer at the hands of these creatures.
Just like the residents of this housing complex, now being torn apart before my eyes.
That’s why I established a special foundation.
A subsidiary under my company dedicated to capturing and containing these monsters so they could no longer harm the innocent.
“…Understood. Confirmed, Boss. The evacuation of the residents has been completed.”
Rachel who had been listening to her earpiece turned to me and reported.
As expected of our company’s task force.
To have completed the evacuation this quickly… impressive.
“Good. Then shall we begin the hunt?”
Kwooooaaar!
A huge creature with its form shrouded in darkness was rampaged wildly.
It had been gleefully demolishing the housing complex when its eyes met mine.
Immediately, it lunged at me on all fours.
Its speed was beyond imagination.
Though it had been quite a distance away, it closed the gap in an instant and swung its huge forepaw at me.
Claang!
“How dare you.”
Rachel’s sword clashed against the creature’s foot as if shielding me, sending out a powerful shockwave.
“Do you even realize whose presence you dared to swing that filthy foot at?”
She began driving the creature back with overwhelming force.
With every swing of her sword, the creature twisted its body frantically.
It couldn’t even react to Rachel’s speed and was relentlessly beaten.
Capturing the creature wasn’t particularly difficult.
Perhaps the developers of Neon Nexus had drawn inspiration from other popular games, as the process was quite similar.
First, the target had to be weakened to make it easier to capture.
Then, a specialized artifact would be used to seal it.
In the actual game, capturing a creature required an ancient artifact of which only three existed. So players had to use them sparingly. But reality was different now.
Thanks to our brilliant research team, the technology had been analyzed and nearly perfected.
I extended my hand and held out an orb.
The Master Ball. A top-tier artifact for capturing monsters that only I could use.
As soon as Rachel finished the weakening phase, I planned to begin the capture process immediately.
Kwoong!
Just then, the creature who had been mercilessly pummeled by Rachel arched its body like a bow.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, it vanished.
The next moment, it reappeared exactly where it had first spotted me.
“Oh, right. I forgot to mention. It has a Blink ability.”
“…Boss, that’s just cruel.”
“Hahaha.”
It had been a long time since I last saw that thing.
How was I supposed to remember the abilities of so many different monsters right away?
“I’ll go capture it again.”
Rachel kicked off the ground.
Her body soared high into the air.
Just as she was about to shoot toward the creature, her figure wrapped in a flash of light—
“W-Wait! Stop!”
I hurriedly called out, halting Rachel just in time.
The creature had suddenly found itself entangled in a scuffle with an unexpected intruder.
Effortlessly dodging its attacks with swift movements, the newcomer soared into the air and unfurled a large holy magic circle.
Wait. Why was she here?
Panicked, I sprinted toward the creature and activated my artifact.
There was a chance it wouldn’t work since I hadn’t weakened it enough, but I had no time to be cautious.
If I hesitated any longer, that woman’s holy spear would end up killing my creature.
A beam of light shot out from my artifact and struck the creature.
Wooong!
Immediately, it began pulling the creature in.
The artifact trembled violently under the force of the creature’s resistance.
Please!
If you come out now, she’ll kill you!
I prayed desperately.
Had my plea reached it?
The monster’s resistance started to weaken.
And once it gave in, the capture was over in an instant.
As the creature’s body rapidly contracted under the artifact’s magic, it was sucked inside.
Clack!
A crisp sound rang out the moment the capture was complete.
It was always a sound that put my mind at ease.
“…….”
As I gazed affectionately at the orb, I felt a pair of eyes on me.
The Saintess who had been locked in a fierce struggle with the creature was staring at me in a daze.
Ah.
Did she think I had stolen her finishing blow?
If we were being precise, she was the one trying to steal our prey.
This was a perfectly legitimate capture.
It would be best to clear up any misunderstandings through conversation.
First, I should talk to her.
“We meet again, Saintess.”
“…President… Diabel.”
She remembered my name!
“I’m honored that you remember me, Saintess.”
I knew giving her that medicine earlier was a good idea.
Well, gifts always leave an impression.
Hmm-hmm.
I smiled warmly at her.
If she remembered me as a generous person who gave her a gift, she wouldn’t be angry about the steal, right?
The Saintess lowered her head and her hands started trembling.
What was this?
Had she not taken the medicine I gave her earlier?
Was the divine magic she had used against the creature causing a backlash in her body?
“But… it seems you’ve forgotten the pill I gave you?”
“……You.”
No, no, this won’t do.
You are my reserve party member for fighting against the Evil God in the future.
You can’t just waste your health so recklessly in a place like this.
“I specially prepared this medicine for you, Saintess. It would be troublesome if you refused it.”
“……!”
The Saintess’s eyes widened.
It seemed she had finally realized the importance of taking care of her health.
“All of this… was it all your doing?”
My doing? What was she talking about?
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
Was she referring to the evacuation of the residents?
“Are you talking about the people who lived here?”
“!!!”
“You don’t need to worry. I made sure they were all sent to a good place.”
By now, our task force should have guided them to a shelter where they could rest.
The injured would be receiving treatment as well.
Was she trying to compliment me on my quick response?
“How… how could you do something so inhuman while wearing the face of a human?!”
……Huh?
Something about this conversation was taking a strange turn.
“Do you truly have no heart? No compassion at all?!”
The Saintess started approaching me. The air around her was growing dangerously tense.
Just then, a flash of red hair cut between us.
“I won’t allow you to come any closer.”
It was Rachel.
“You. Who do you think you are?!”
Boom!
The Saintess’s aura and Rachel’s aura clashed head-on.
Even though she was none other than the first Apostle of the Heavenly God and the Saintess, Rachel’s aura did not waver against hers in the slightest.
That’s my Rachel! So reliable!
“You seem to have misunderstood something, Saintess.”
“…Misunderstood? What could I have possibly misunderstood? I saw you controlling and retrieving that monster with my own eyes!”
…Ah.
So that’s how she took it.
She thought I was retrieving the monster, not capturing it.
Given the circumstances, it was an understandable misunderstanding.
…How should I clear this up?
Things were getting complicated.
I needed to figure out how to handle this.
Just as I was deep in thought—
“Saintess!”
A bald-headed old man came rushing over with his head gleaming under the light.
It was Cardinal Maximus whom I had met earlier in the hall.
“Are you safe, Saintess?!”
The cardinal swiftly landed at the Saintess’s side.
“Cardinal! Right now, President Diavel is—!”
The Saintess’s face was filled with agitation and she was about to relay her misunderstanding to the Cardinal.
Things were about to get even more complicated.
“I think it would be best to call it a day.”
“Where do you think you’re running off to?!”
In her current emotional state, no amount of reasoning would get through to her.
And to make matters worse, of all people, that Cardinal Maximus had to show up. Now things were even more troublesome.
Given some time to cool down, we could have a proper conversation.
Once she learned that our company’s task force had saved everyone here, all misunderstandings would be cleared up.
Wooong—
A glow of spatial distortion enveloped Rachel and me.
“I hope that next time, there won’t be any reason for us to raise our voices like this, Saintess.”
As a final touch, I flashed her a friendly smile.
And then, my vision was swallowed by light.
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